The Mandalorian Wars
In the decades that followed The Great Sith War, the Republic and the Jedi Order experienced an era of peace and rebuilding known as the Restoration Period. The Mandalorians continued their nomadic existence under Mandalore the Ultimate's leadership, rebuilding their ranks.2 Less than a decade after the end of the Sith War, Mandalore the Ultimate was approached by the Zeltron scientist Anton Wyrick, who had been 24’s student during the Great Sith War. Wyrick had acquired a genetic sample and believed that he could genetically engineer Force-sensitives that could be used as a kind of Mandalorian Jedi. Mandalore agreed to Wyrick's proposal, and the Zeltron started the New Generation Project, which was headquartered on the planet Osadia. The Crucible raided the Osadia School17 around a decade after 3988 BBY18 and kidnapped all of Wyrick's students. Wyrick was unable to recover his students after years of searching, and ultimately rejoined the Mandalorian cause as Mandalore's chief scientist, torturing and experimenting on captured Jedi in order to discover the source of their powers. Wyrick became known as "Demagol," a contraction of the Mando'a term demar agol and a name that literally meant "the flesh carver." Another of Mandalore's lieutenants was Cassus Fett, a warrior who became Mandalore's aide-de-camp2 and top strategist.1 Influenced to War In 3978 BBY, Mandalore was approached a mysterious Dark Lord (possibly Naga), who enlisted the warrior's help in locating a tomb on the planet Rekkiad. Upon discovering the tomb, the emissary told Mandalore of a vision that his master had experienced: a vision of the Mandalorians sweeping across the Republic and conquering many worlds before ultimately crushing the Republic in a glorious victory. Unbeknownst to Mandalore, the emissary was a servant of the Sith Emperor of a hidden Empre. Completely under the Sith's spell, Mandalore took up the idea of invading the Republic as his own and began to reorganize and marshall the Mandalorian clans in preparation for the forthcoming battles.19 Mandalore the Ultimate returned to Mandalorian Space and instituted a number of reforms: firstly, the Mandalorians would begin to accept non-Taung warriors who proved themselves in battle and upheld the Mandalorian warrior code. Secondly, the Mandalorians would no longer pillage worlds and then move on to the next target; instead, they would hold their territory and build an industrial society based on the Mandalorian code. Mandalore's new vision of society was one where warriors would rule and be supported by farmers, artisans, and manufacturers who had accepted the Mandalorian way. As a result of his decision, the ranks of the Mandalorians rapidly swelled with all manner of Humans and aliens, primarily Mandalorian vassals such as Mandallian Giants and Jakelians. This new movement was dubbed the Neo-Crusader movement,3 and with Cassus Fett's aid,20 Mandalore the Ultimate pioneered the movement as a successor to the Indomitable's Crusaders. The Neo-Crusader name originated as an extremist cult that called for the reestablishment of the Crusader traditions, and Mandalore adapted their views to suit his own ends—the Neo-Crusader movement, thought slow to take hold, gradually shaped the Mandalorians into a more disciplined and organized fighting force.2 Cassus Fett spearheaded the movement in Mandalore's name while also serving his commander as a strategist and aide,20 and the Mandalorians began constructing new warships at Breshig and Arda-2; these ships were built using war matériel stolen from the shipyards at Foerost and Abhean during the Sith War.3 As the Neo-Crusaders expanded their domain, they inducted members from varying species such as Hrakians, Togruta, Devaronians, Nalroni, Zygerrians, Drackmarians, and Elomin.3 The War In 3976 BBY, Mandalore the Ultimate's forces made their first move: a raid on the industrialized planet Althir III in the Outer Rim Territories. A fleet of Neo-Crusader warships, under the command of General ****** stormed the world,3 though the battle lasted a total of five days as the Althiri managed to hold off the Mandalorians—a stalemate that was finally broken by the unit of a young warrior named Canderous Ordo, who was tasked with feinting against one of the enemy flanks in order to draw the enemy out of formatiion. However, Ordo saw an opening in the enemy ranks and took the initiative, forcing the Althiri to fend off assaults on two sides and exposing their vulnerable command ships. Ordo's forces quickly eradicated the Althiri fleet, which was ten times the size of their own, and Ordo was rewarded with command over an entire sub-sect of his clan.5 Althiri became a productive part of Mandalore's war machine, and three years later Mandalore's forces struck at another world—Cathar, home of the feline Cathar species.3 The Battle of Cathar2 was led by Cassus Fett, who directed his forces to herd the defenseless Cathar population into the ocean. There, Fett's forces massacred the Cathar, despite the protests of a single Mandalorian woman who was killed along with the Cathar.6 Basilisk war droids swept across the planet, killing the remaining population—only a few hundred survived,21 with over 90% of the Cathar population dying during the massacre.9 The Republic learned of the massacre, but chose to suppress news of the battle in order to prevent rioting and panic,2 and they mobilized the Republic Navy to guard Dxun—still home to some defiant Mandalorian clans—and the planet Taris,3 which sat along the trade route known as the Mandalorian Road and linked the planets Corsin and Mandalore. Over the next eight years, the Mandalorians also raided worlds such as Corsin and Azure, and Mandalorian warships also expanded their territory into the Tion Hegemony and Hutt Space on the eastern edge of the galaxy. Starting with the capture of the Lianna system, the Mandalorians traveled up the Perlemian Trade Route and took the Makem system and the Quermia systems before heading southeast along the Overic Griplink hyperroute, conquering the Kaelta system and then taking the Florn system. At the same time, another campaign was launched from the Lianna system—the Mandalorians first took the Jaminere system, then headed south to the Sy Myrth system, and then intruded on Hutt Space by taking the Taskeed system, then the Dennogra system, and then the Dernatine system. The Hutts resorted to hiring mercenary armies to defend their territories, but frequently the Mandalorians simply recruited the mercenaries into their own ranks.9 Some Neo-Crusaders suggested using kryotin, a powder from the planet Veroleem, as a bioweapon to soften up targets, but most Mandalorians were disgusted by the idea.22 A forward supply post named Unity was established on the planet Caillte to support the planned advance into the Mid Rim. Commander Rohlan Dyre served in the early battles in the Outer Rim, but Dyre began to question Mandalore's goals and reasoning for testing the Republic's defenses. When his questions went unanswered, Dyre responded by refusing to fight the next time he was called upon. Dyre was placed on the front lines anyway, so he escaped during the fighting and went in search of answers on his own,4 investigating "Doctor Demagol"'s history and talking to people who knew the scientist before he joined the Mando'ade.17 "Rohlan the Questioner," as he became known, was eventually captured and placed back on the front lines, but he ran away again—a cycle that continued to repeat over the next few years. By 3964 BBY, Dyre had been caught and sent back to the front lines six times, even convincing General Sean Hell to investigate Demagol and return with his real name – Anton Wyrick. As General Hell continued to investigate, he was drawn closer to a legend concerning 24’s lost ship. He was, however, unsuccessful in completing his search as he was also called back to the front lines for the assault of Flashpoint Station, where he would meet with Demagol and begin his training in the dark arts of the force. In 3966 BBY, when Taris's resource worlds of Jebble, Vanquo, Tarnith, and Suurja began to be threatened by the Mandalorians,24 the Republic established the Jebble-Vanquo-Tarnith line: a protective cordon around Taris that linked the planets Jebble, Tarnith, and Vanquo; Admirals Jimas Veltraa and Noma Sommos were among the officers tasked with holding the line. The Coming Storm However, the Mandalorians' progress came to a halt at the end of the year 3965 BBY—the Republic Navy's forces around Taris blocked the invaders' attempts to capture more star systems in the Outer Rim, and the Mandalorians went eight months without a victory. Finally, the Mandalorians made progress along the Mandalorian Road and captured the planet Flashpoint, home to the Flashpoint Stellar Research Station, after a brief skirmish with Republic forces.25 Flashpoint Station was repurposed as a laboratory for Demagol, a place where captured Jedi were to be brought so that the scientist could experiment on them.4 A few months later, the Mandalorians made an attempt to take the agrarian world of Suurja25 that sat along the cordon between Tarnith and Jebble,9 but they were engaged by Republic forces under the command of Captain Saul Karath, and the battle was inconclusive. Over the next six weeks, three further battles were fought at Suurja, but all three of the skirmishes were inconclusive. Around that time, a charismatic young Jedi began to move through the Jedi Order, calling for Jedi intervention in the conflict with the Mandalorians. He advocated revanchism, or the retaking of territories lost to the Mandalorians, and his views were met with suspicion and hostility by the increasingly conservative Jedi High Council, who remained wary of intervention due to the threat of the dark side. Encouraged by his Jedi Master Kreia, the young Jedi began to openly challenge the Council and gathered a following of like-minded Jedi, including his friend Alek.2 The movement became known as the Revanchists, and their leader was branded "the Jedi's own crusader" by the Republic media.16 Defying the Jedi Council's wishes, the "crusader" led Alek and the other Revanchists on a scouting mission to the battlefront, and they stopped on Taris in hopes of recruiting some of the Jedi who were stationed at the planet's Jedi Tower. When the Jedi failed to sway any of the five Jedi Masters there or their Padawans,26 they departed for the planet Suurja. However, the "crusader" left his followers on Suurja shortly afterward to investigate Mandalorian activity on Onderon and Dxun, and the Revanchists were unprepared for an ambush by Mandalorians led by Commander Dyre and General Sean Hell Alek and the other Revanchists were taken to Flashpoint, where Demagol tortured and experimented on them, continuing 24 and Naga’s experiments. The Onslaught Seeing the Jedi's withdrawal as an opportunity to take Taris and begin the invasion of the Republic in force, Mandalore the Ultimate ordered his forces to attack the planet Vanquo, thereby ending the eight month stalemate. At the Battle of Vanquo, Mandalorian forces overwhelmed the Republic Navy's forces and broke the Jebble-Vanquo-Tarnith line, conquering the mining world; at the same time, Mandalorian forces broke through the Republic cordon and headed towards Taris.4 As the year 3963 BBY began, Admiral Veltraa withdrew his forces closer towards Taris and reformed the remaining fleets under his command into a new defensive line. Admiral Sommos was gravely injured during the fighting, and she was evacuated to the planet Wayland; however, Admiral Veltraa was killed when his flagship Reliance was destroyed, and the Mandalorians besieged Taris itself.15 Mandalorian dreadnaughts began to bombard the planet from orbit, beginning weeks of devastation as the Mandalorians began to invade the planet, though they were opposed by Taris's meager planetary defense forces, the Taris Home Guard.24 A Taris Resistance soon formed from the remnants of the planet's police force, and swoop gangs such as the Hidden Beks fought the Mandalorian invaders as well. However, the Mandalorians also suffered losses on unexpected fronts—the "crusader" was ordered to rescue the captured Jedi by the Jedi Council, but the Jedi were were rescued by Zayne Carrick. In order to rescue Jarael and the other Jedi, Carrick's group tricked the Mandalorians stationed there into believing that the Republic was booby-trapping their ships with explosives and convinced them to flee the station. Demagol was also apparently captured, but unbeknownst to Carrick and the others, the scientist switched armors with Rohlan Dyre—who had fled the Vanquo battlefront and joined forces with Carrick—and placed Dyre in a coma. Alek and the Revanchists took "Demagol" back to Coruscant, while "Rohlan Dyre" slipped aboard The Last Resort.29 Not long afterwards, the "crusader" reunited with his followers and continued his campaign for Jedi intervention, but soon found himself to be a celebrity in the eyes of the Republic. As they besieged Taris, the Mandalorians also invaded the Republic through invasion corridors15 that ran through three adjacent sectors5—an offensive that became known as "the Onslaught."15 The Mandalorians headed west along the Outer Rim and took the Zongorlu system before launching several offensives against planets along the Republic's northern rim:9 Ord Mantell fell to the Mandalorians as they also attacked a number of colonies of the Zabrak species in the region, and they also attacked Ithor, though a Republic counterattack with the support of Zabrak military units repelled the invaders.3 General Hell then attacked the Zabrak homeworld of Iridonia, which they conquered and occupied for quite some time, recruiting some of the natives into their ranks.30 Republic and Zabrak forces ultimately liberated the planet, but a Mandalorian presence remained in Iridonian society.3 A second invasion corridor saw the Mandalorians assault Wayland,9 bombing the surface and wiping out colonists and factories.31 The third invasion corridor was aimed Coreward—the Mandalorians captured Jebble,9 building a war forge on the ice planet that supplied the Mandalorian offensive and also served as a staging point for a planned attack on the Core World of Alderaan. The Mandalorian Invasion In light of the Onslaught, the Galactic Senate mobilized the entire Republic Navy to counter the Mandalorian threat.5 Around the same time, Mandalorian forces struck at Onderon, besieging the walled city of Iziz with basilisk war droids. Onderon and its moon Dxun remained under Mandalorian control for quite some time, serving as a staging point later in the conflict. The Battle of Serroco saw Karath's forces begin a slow retreat towards the Core as they came under fire from the Mandalorians and the Admiral of the Fleet announced his intention to lodge an official protest with the Republic over the military's positioning of their forces near the Stereb cities. Karath sought to retreat to Myrkr or rendezvous with the Tremendous battle group near the Ryyk Nebula, but was ultimately forced to fall back towards the banking planet of Telerath. Not long after the bombardment of Serroco, Lord Arkoh Adasca of the Adasca BioMechanical Corporation of Arkania was brought into contact with Demagol and forced the scientist Gorman Vandrayk to work with him on projects he had brought from Yavin. Eager to complete his work on the weaponization of the enormous space slugs known as exogorths, he used Naga’s notes on the giant Massassi worms to begin building a private arsenal. Believing that possession of the exogorths, which were essentially a galactic plague that could destroy entire planets, made him a galactic power, Adasca arranged for an auction of the exogorths aboard his ship Arkanian Legacy in the Omonoth system, effectively betraying the Demagol. Adasca contacted representatives of the major players in the conflict—the Revanchist, Mandalore the Ultimate, and Admiral Karath—and requested their presence at his auction (unaware that Demagol worked for the Mandalore). The Revanchist was unable to attend in person, but after he and several Jedi foresaw that Adasca's offer could change the course of the war, he sent Alek in his place and instructed his friend to ensure that the danger they posed was eliminated. Mandalore deployed General Hell to secure the weapon and free Demagol from Lord Adasca’s grasp. Upon arriving at the meeting the General quickly set about seizing command of the auction and executing Adasca for his treason against the Mandalore. By the time Alek arrived, the battle was in full swing and the Jedi only added to the chaos. Wounded in the melee, Demagol retreated and fled to Yavin whilst the General destroyed the facility and lost the records to the exogorths. From here, the Mandalorians moved on to conquer the nearby Thustra system, and then took the Obroa system.9 However, their Coreward advance was brought to a halt after a series of events on Jebble, where the Mandalorians were preparing for their assault on Alderaan. General Hell, Demagol's former assistant, uncovered the Sith artifact known as the Muur Talisman in the Undercity of Taris,32 and brought it to Jebble—but on the way there, the Talisman "bit" one of Pulsipher's subordinates. The Jedi Shadow Celeste Morne, along with Carrick and Hierogryph, stowed away aboard the General’s ship, and upon uncovering the Mandalorians' plans on Jebble, Carrick decided to warn the Republic.40 Before he could do so, the "bitten" Mandalorian transformed into a rakghoul, a fearsome creature that spread the rakghoul plague; the rakghoul quickly infected several other Mandalorians, and the plague began spreading like wildfire.40 Carrick managed to make contact with Cassus Fett, who had moved on from the Taris offensive, and warned the Field Marshal of the events on Jebble. Pulsipher lost control of the Talisman, which held the spirit of its original owner Karness Muur, when the Talisman attempted to take the Force-sensitive Carrick as its host, though Morne sacrificed herself in his place.41 Under Muur's influence, Morne took control of the rakghouls—the Talisman was the original source of the plague—and quickly infected the entire Mandalorian army stationed on Jebble. However, Carrick managed to bring Morne to her senses, and Morne agreed to be locked inside a oubliette, or stasis casket, to contain the Talisman's power. As Carrick and Hierogryph escaped from Jebble, Cassus Fett's forces arrived in the system and, to Carrick's horror, bombarded the planet with nuclear warheads as they did Serroco. The assault completely wiped out the rakghouls on Jebble,8 and the loss of their forces put an end to the planned Core World offensive. Revan soon came up with a solution that appeased the Council and allowed the Revanchists to join the war: he revived the idea of a Mercy Corps from the Sith War, where Jedi were deputized to serve alongside the Republic Military allegedly as healers. The Council reluctantly agreed to Revan's request, and the Revanchists—now an official Mercy Corps—were placed under Revan's direct command. Revan and Alek, who by that time had adopted the name Malak, were appointed as generals, and they worked with Captain Telettoh of the Testament.6 In the following months, the Revanchists joined the Republic in battling the Mandalorians openly, and Revan proved himself a capable military leader by winning several victories against the Mandalorians The Mandalorian Triumph Meanwhile, the Mandalorian Wars entered a phase known as the Mandalorian Triumph—a campaign that first saw the Mandalorians conquer the border world of Eres III9 and set fire to the planet's Xoxin plains, driving back Meetra Surik's forces from the world. The plains continued to burn over a decade afterwards, earning the battle infamy.13 Also during this time, the Mandalorians continued their offensive from the Dernatrine system, heading along the Lesser Lantillian Route to conquer the Charros system, and then along the Great Kashyyyk Branch and the Randon Run in an attempt to conquer the Randon system. However, the Mandalorians' attempted conquest of the strategically-valuable system, which sat at the intersection of numerous routes, was defeated by the Republic. From Eres, the Mandalorians raided Azure and then the planet Contruum, and then headed south along the Vaathkree Trade Corridor to take the Gizer system. The Nazzri system was next to fall, followed by the Vena system;9 after meeting up with additional forces at Dxun,3 General Hell* then took the Ambria system and then the Zel system, declaring himself their Prince, under Mandalore. With the advent of Jedi involvement in the war, the Republic unveiled the multitude of warships that they had been constructing in the shipyards of the Core and Trailing Sectors, such as Centurion-class battlecruisers and Hammerhead-class cruisers. The Interdictor-class cruiser was also introduced at this time, a concept that had been pioneered by the late Admiral Veltraa.3 A number of manufacturing companies designed and marketed various new battle droid models in hopes of cashing in on the war effort, but the droids were not as successful as the companies had hoped.48 From the Zel system, the Mandalorians headed Coreward to Commenor, where they smashed a Republic task force,3 and then conquered the Quellor system. After taking the Exodeen system, the Mandalorians moved on to the shipyard world of Duro,9 whose orbital cities and shipyards were bombarded by Basilisk war droids.13 Sometime around then, the Mandalorians also attacked the Lantillies system, though the Republic repelled their assault. Duro's infrastructure were devastated by the attackers, who destroyed many of the orbital space platforms in order to cut off the Corellian Trade Spine.2 However, Revan, Malak,3 and Meetra Surik13 managed to save the Battle of Duro from becoming even more of a disaster: they arrived with a fleet of Interdictor-class cruisers, thereby stopping the Mandalorians from escaping with war matériel stolen from Duro's shipyards and defeating General Hell* for the first time. Bowing to public pressure, Supreme Chancellor Tol Cressa appointed Revan Supreme Commander of the Republic Military. The Republic Counteroffensive Over the course of 3961 BBY and 3960 BBY, Revan directed the Republic Navy in taking the offensive against the Mandalorians: during that period, the Republic liberated Taris, ending the lengthy siege and occupation of the world. Revan himself led the charge to retake Taris, leading a group of Jedi into battle in Taris's Undercity. While there, Revan freed a group of slaves who were about to be sold on the slave market, and one of them—a Force-sensitive Cathar named Juhani—was encouraged by one of Revan's compatriots to join the Jedi Order. Revan's tactical prowess saw the Republic achieve victory after victory, but it was not without a cost: Revan became increasingly willing to sacrifice populations and key planets in order to win victories elsewhere,5 and Revan understood that the Republic's industrial might was the key to victory.3 "Moral shortcuts" became common under his leadership as Revan and Malak began to adopt a policy of victory at all costs. Early in 3961 BBY, the pair were led by Demagol to an ancient ruin of the Rakata species on Datooine, where they discovered a Star Map—a relic of the Rakata that showed part of the location of the Rakatan space station known as the Star Forge. Demagol had intended to use this for himself but was forced to abandon the project as the two Jedi closed in on him. Revan soon discovered another Star Map on the planet Kashyyyk,2 and not long afterwards, Revan briefly visited the Sith tombworld of Korriban. Here he finally confronted Demagol face to face and was shown a vision of his future that was so horrifying that it started to tip his sanity. Demagol thought himself victorious but instead he then had to confront an enraged Revan. Barely surviving the attack, he retreated to the tomb of Naga Sadow where he received a vision of his own. Revan's visit to the planet of Malachor V saw the Jedi discover the Trayus Academy, a temple of Sith learning, and Revan began to be seduced by the dark side of the Force as he learned from the Academy's knowledge. Demagol retreated from the war entirely, contacting his only apprentice (General Hell*) and telling him to continue the campaign against the Jedi until he returned. He then sought out Naga Sadow on Drommund Kas, though it would take him decades to get there. Though under the thrall of the dark side, Revan and Malak did not renounce the Jedi ways initially, and he and Malak continued to lead the Republic against the Mandalorians.5 From the Perlemian, Republic forces attacked planets in Mandalorian Space—the Vorzyd system was first to fall, and from there the Republic split their forces on two offensives. The attack on the Lucazec system saw the Republic driven back, but the Republic was successful in taking the Stenos system and then the Elom system. From the Elom system, the Republic moved to Jaga's Cluster.9 However, the Battle of Jaga's Cluster ended in disaster—despite the presence of Revan and Malak, Cassus Fett's forces still managed to emerge victorious, and Fett gained notoriety for personally boarding on the Republic flagships and killing the captain himself.49 Not long after, at the Battle of Althir, forces under Revan's command annihilated most of the Mandalorian ground forces, reclaiming the industrial world after around twenty-five years of Mandalorian control. Late in the Mandalorian Wars, Revan ordered his forces to retake the planet Onderon and its moon Dxun, which was a heavily-fortified Mandalorian stronghold. A large-scale assault was organized to take Dxun, though the offensive was incredibly costly to the Republic—the enemy had had decades to fortify the moon, with defenses that included minefields, traps, anti-air turrets, and the jungle beasts themselves. Revan's battle plan called for battle droids to be deployed on the moon to take out the anti-air turrets, and then his forces—under the command of the Jedi General Meetra Surik—undertook hundreds of small-unit feints to probe the Mandalorian defenses. Surik lost most of her forces when they charged across a minefield in an attempt to strike at the Mandalorian emplacements, but she carried out Revan's plans regardless. The battle lasted for months as the Mandalorians refused to give in, resulting in incredibly high casualties—veterans of the battle stated that the Republic lost ten soldiers for every Mandalorian killed. Despite the cost, the Republic ultimately captured the moon, driving the Mandalorians back towards the Outer Rim. Showdown In 3960 BBY, Revan drove the Mandalorians farther and farther back, and the Republic retook the Lianna system.9 Revan then forced a final confrontation at Malachor V, deploying a massive fleet to the planet in order to lure the Mandalorians into attacking. Revan also deployed a superweapon that he had prepared in secrecy: the Mass Shadow Generator, a gravitational weapon designed by the Zabrak engineer Bao-Dur. The generator was intended as the centerpiece of the trap at Malchor, where Revan hoped to bring an end to the conflict. Revan split his forces in two, giving half to Meetra Surik to lure the Mandalorians into range of the superweapon, and tasked her with the activation of the Mass Shadow Generator. However, Revan himself was delayed outside of the Malachor system by a Mandalorian scouting party, and by the time he arrived in the system, a massive naval battle was underway between Mandalore the Ultimate's fleet and Surik's ships. Mandalore, realizing that defeat was inevitable due to the Republic reinforcements, challenged Revan to single combat aboard his flagship. Revan accepted his challenge and boarded the vessel, where he engaged in a duel to the death with the warrior chieftain. Despite Mandalore's strength, he was eventually overcome by his Jedi opponent; Mandalore was struck down by Revan and ended up dying at the Jedi's feet. As the Taung coughed up blood, he removed his mask and began to speak to Revan about how he had been betrayed. Mandalore explained how the Sith had manipulated him, as the Sith's spell had broken in Mandalore's last moments, and in order to prove his story, he gave the coordinates of the planet Rekkiad to Revan. As Mandalore died, Revan picked up Mandalore's Mask, the symbol of Mandalorian leadership, and took it as his spoils of war, preventing a new Mandalore from being chosen. With Revan's victory over Mandalore, the Republic forces began to press the Mandalorian fleet closer and closer to Malachor V, but they also suffered heavy casualties in the process, prompting Surik to command Bao-Dur to activate the Mass Shadow Generator. Both Revan and Surik's ships were out of range of the weapon, and they watched in horror as most of the Mandalorian fleet and a large part of the Republic fleet was drawn toward the planet into a massive gravity vortex. Tens of thousands died as hundreds of vessels collided with Malachor's surface, devastating the once-lush surface and fracturing the planet's core as the ships were crushed into the planet. The Republic suffered incredible casualties, though nowhere near as many as the Mandalorians, and the sheer number of deaths caused a substantial wound in the Force. Meetra Surik was the closest Jedi to the vortex that survived, and she instinctively severed her own connection to the Force in order to survive and not be killed by the shock wave in the Force. In the wake of the utter devastation, the remaining Mandalorians transmitted their unconditional surrender to the Republic. In the aftermath of the war, the Jedi Council demanded that the remaining Revanchists—particularly Revan, Malak, and Surik—return to Coruscant and face judgment for their actions during the end of the war. Revan and Malak refused and took the remainder of their forces into the Unknown Regions to the north, claiming to be pursuing the remaining Mandalorians. Surik chose to return to the Council, as she was bereft of the Force;5 Malak urged Revan to use his new HK-47 assassin droid to eliminate Surik, but Revan refused, claiming that she was "already dead."13 Revan had created HK-47 to assassinate selective opponents, as he sought to prevent the need for battles like Malachor.5 Revan and Malak soon left their forces behind as they traveled to Rekkiad alone, seeking to confirm Mandalore's story. There, the two Jedi discovered Dramath's tomb and a datacron describing Dramath's history and the existence of a hidden Sith Empire; before departing Rekkiad, Revan chose to leave Mandalore's Mask in Dramath's tomb. Revan and Malak followed the trail of the hidden Sith to the Empire's capital of Dromund Kaas, where they attempted to kill the Sith Emperor and prevent him from invading the Republic; however, the Emperor and Naga dominated their minds and turned them fully to the dark side, making them their servants. By this point the Emperor had killed and resurrected Naga a number of times and now used him as a tool for Sith Alchemy. The Apprentice had truly become the Master. Anointing them Darth Revan and Darth Malak, Dark Lords of the Sith, the Emperor sent the two back as his advance agents to invade the Republic, and tasked them with locating the Star Forge. Unbeknownst to the Emperor, the two broke free of the Emperor's control not long after departing Dromund Kaas, and they unknowingly adopted the Emperor's commands as their own desires.19 Locating the Star Forge in the Unknown Regions, Revan and Malak used the space station to produce a massive fleet of warships which they combined with their followers from the Mandalorian Wars, and they formed a new Sith Empire. Admiral Karath was one of a number of high-ranking Republic officers who joined the new Sith, and in 3959 BBY Revan led his Empire in invading the Republic—a conflict that became known as the Jedi Civil War. The Jedi Civil War lasted until 3956 BBY, when a redeemed Revan defeated his former apprentice at the Battle of Rakata Prime Aftermath In the weeks that followed the Battle of Malachor V—a battle that became known as Ani'la Akaan, or the Great Last Battle, in Mando'a—Revan ordered that the remaining Mandalorians be stripped of their weapons and armor, and also that they dismantle their basilisk war droids. Knowing that they would only resume the fight if a new leader arose, Revan kept Mandalore's Mask, and the loss of the Mask greatly demoralized the Mandalorians. Most of the warriors soon became mercenaries or bounty hunters as the clans largely fragmented—without the Mask, the various clans fought amongst themselves for power. In the years that followed, some Mandalorian clans such as Clan Ordo began searching for the Mask, identifying all of the possible worlds Revan could have reached in the three days during which he and Malak disappeared after Malachor. Less than fifty Mandalorians were part of the search on the first world, taking them two years, but as they moved from planet to planet, their numbers grew as more clans joined them. The search for the Mask united the Mandalorian clans behind a common cause, and by the time they started searching Rekkiad in 3954 BBY, over a hundred clans had joined the search. General Hell continued his personal war against the Republic, rallying as many of the clans as he could to join his gurrilla strikes. He was eventually captured and placed into carbonite by a Jedi strike team ten years after the end of the war. Revan, who had lost his memories during the Jedi Civil War, sought the help of his friend Canderous Ordo to investigate his returning memories in 3954 BBY, and the two traveled to Rekkiad to join the search. With Revan's help, Clan Ordo discovered the Mask in Dramath's tomb, and Revan convinced Canderous Ordo to take up the Mask as Mandalore the Preserver. Before departing to retrace his and Malak's steps into the Unknown Regions, Revan asked the new Mandalore to restore the strength of the Mandalorian in order to protect the Republic from the mysterious Sith threat.19 The Preserver spent the next few years reuniting the clans and rebuilding their military strength, establishing a headquarter on Dxun as he restored the Neo-Crusader movement. In the Dark Wars that followed the end of the Jedi Civil War, one of the new Sith Lords that rose to power was Darth Nihilus—a survivor of the Battle of Malachor who was transformed by the experience, becoming a being who craved Force energy and made him a living wound in the Force. Nihilus pulled the Ravager, one of the Centurion-class battlecruisers destroyed in the Battle of Malachor V, from the planet's surface using the Force and appropriated it as his own flagship. The Ravager was ultimately destroyed by both Republic and Mandalorian forces, with Mandalore the Ultimate accompanying Meetra Surik—by then known as the Jedi Exile—in a final assault on the ship as his forces fought alongside the Republic. Mandalore the Ultimate's reforms had lasting effects on Mandalorian society—the Taung species became virtually extinct, with the clans becoming Human-dominated and accepting of those warriors who proved themselves worthy.3 In Mandalorian culture, a ritual known as the Geroya Be Haran, or "game of annihilation," developed in the centuries following the Mandalorian Wars. The loser would have their entire legacy erased, and many believed that the tradition was a symbolic retelling of the Neo-Crusaders' greatest victories during the Mandalorian Wars. He was also responsible for founding Ordo City on Dxun and maintaing their people’s there without upsetting the Onderonian monarchy. He effectively cemented the Ordo Clan in the annals of Mandalorian history whilst it benefitted from a brief and unprecedented peaceful period. However, Mandalore the Preserver was the last known Mandalore to wear Mandalore's Mask; the mask disappeared after the Preserver's death. Many counterfeits have appeared over the millennia, but it is strongly believed by many that the original is now lost forever. New Mandalores have fashioned their own masks. Naga was now a tool of the Great Sith Empire on Drommund Kas. When Naga eventually broke free of the Emperor, long after the Sack of Coruscant, (3,653BBY) he was in the body of a young Hutt which he had created for the purpose of maintaining his immortality. Hiding his capabilities, he then lay in wait for thousands of years until the rise of Emperor Palpatine. He was then killed and finally sent into the abyss by Maximus Vim and his team from Vortex Station. Anton Wyrick (Demagol) survived the end of the war and the capture of his apprentice, General Hell* and reached Drommund Kas to join his masters there. Bent and shaped into a tool for the Emperor, he was then made a true Darth and promoted within the ranks of the Empire. He was killed by his rival’s apprentice; Darth Malgus, shortly before the retaking of Korriban at the start of the Great Galactic War. Malgus then went on to become the Emperor’s Hand until he turned against the Emperor and attempted a coup. He was consequently defeated, but not before recovering 24’s lost ship. This was then claimed by the Emperor and taken to Drommund Kas where it was to be studied. The untimely end of the war and the defeat of the Sith some years later lost the artefact to a salvage company in the deep rim. 24 was then transported between antique dealers and dabblers in the dark side until it happened to reach Naboo and was purchased by one of Palpatine’s ancestors. The General remained in a top-secret military prison for several hundred years before it was deactivated and he was shipped out and taken by a particularly zealous General in the Republic Armed Forces. He died suddenly and the carbonite monstrosity was passed to his only daughter, who despised it but could not find a buyer. It was then passed down through their family for some years until a Mandalorian collector recognized its worth and purchased it for several million. Attempting to activate it, he was killed by one of the Jedi automated mechanism malfunctioning and again it was left in the dark for a hundred years. During the sacking of Coruscant it was discovered by a Sith but was not recognized as a Mandalorian General. It was placed in a vault on Kas to be examined later when the war ended and it was lost to salvagers in the deep rim. Passing between traders for some years, it ended up on Mandalore in the palace of the Queen when Darth Maul and Death Watch usurped and murdered her. When Palpatine ultimately usurped Maul he took it from the Grand Haul and returned with it to Coruscant. It was then shipped out to Naboo where he would activate and use it for certain important missions which the rest of the Empire would remain ignorant of.